Taking Form
by vampire-luvr
Summary: Sally is given an odd reward by the Guardians for the work she has done, but all she can think about is what it means for her and the vampire she left behind years before. One-shot that explains the beginnings of the actual romantic relationship between Sally and Aiden. AU, as I've only seen through season two.


Authors Note: Obviously, I don't own anything from the world of Being Human. I know I am a little late to the show, but I am absolutely in love with Aiden and Sally, and I wish there was more fan fiction on here about these two. I plan to watch the UK version after I finish the US one. I just started season 3, so this is pretty AU…at least, I think. But anyways, I hope you enjoy. I am working on a similar piece, but from Aiden's perspective, because I am convinced he would have some hard-core feelings about the woman he loves being corporeal but not having a heartbeat to drive him crazy.

I've watched you for years now. Watched you bring women home, watched you stay out with them all night. I've watched you love three women, all of whom hurt you. And the whole time, I've loved you. But I've had to keep my distance. It's had to be enough, living with you and being your roommate. You've been such a good friend to me over the years. You've always understood me and accepted me. Josh, he struggled with what to do with me for a long time. But I guess that's because he is still mostly human. He isn't immortal like we are. You, though, you've always accepted me. You understood, right from the start, what I was going through. You've comforted me when I was upset, stayed up late to protect me when I was scared, and made me laugh when I needed to feel better.

I knew I loved you when I had to fight the Reaper. When you salted me on the stairs and forced me to address the problems I was facing. You were dealing with so much in your own world, and yet you were there for me. You came home one night, exhausted from a long day of work, both supernatural and hospital, and looked dead. I could tell you hadn't fed in a while, and you looked ready to collapse. I was just about to ghost out so you couldn't see me, because I'd had an awful day, but you caught me just before I could. Your speed never ceases to amaze me, and sometimes I almost forget you aren't human. But you took one look at me, and your whole demeanor changed. You instantly put on your big brother protector face and came and sat down with me. You couldn't touch me, but you put a pillow against your leg, and I was able to put my head down on it and be close to you. It made me feel better. You always knew how to fix my troubles, and when you were at a loss, you were always there to comfort me.

When you left with Suren, it felt like my heart was being ripped out. I died so young, real, true love was, and still is, new to me. I haven't had several hundred years like you to experience this and realize the true extent of feelings. I'd only just come to realize my love for you, not that I could share it with you, and then like that, you were gone. My supernatural best friend, and you walked away, no problem. You touched my face as you turned to leave, and I swear, I could almost feel your hand. I wanted it to be real, so bad, and it almost was. I missed you so much while you were away. So did Josh. And then, you were back, and I was so relieved.

The day I decided to leave the house was one of the hardest. It was my turn to branch out, to explore the world. Josh had his own life with Nora. You had your world. It was time for me to try to find my place in the supernatural world. And so, I decided to leave and see the world. It made sense to me that the first thing I would do would be to travel. I'd always wanted to see the world, but Danny had taken that passion from me, and then I'd had no time or desire to do it after. The look on your face was the hardest. Josh and Nora, they understood. Or, they were so involved in their own lives, they thought they understood. But you. I had to tell you that you couldn't come with me. You tried every argument you could think of, telling me you could travel with me just part time even, but that I deserved someone who was experienced to show me the world. But I knew I couldn't take you with me. The point of my leaving was to find myself, and I couldn't find myself while I was hopelessly in love with you. You deserved more than what I could offer, and I deserved to try to get past my painful love of you.

I promised I would stay in touch and pop home from time to time, and at first, I did. But the longer I was away, the more I figured your lives would get along without me, so the less I came home. And I was fine with that for a while. I met many ghosts along the way. Made some friends. Unfortunately, I saw a lot of my friends find their peace and get their doors, but there was still a satisfaction in knowing I helped somehow. It made me feel a little better about the souls I had reaped along the way. But after a while, the loneliness set in. I saw China and England, Italy and Mexico. But everywhere I went, I could see things only. I couldn't smell the salty air of the ocean, or feel the sun on my face. I couldn't knock back a beer or enjoy local foods. And I wasn't with the people I truly loved. I missed Josh's attempts at cooking for people who didn't eat. I missed being supernatural and yet girly with Nora. And I missed you. I endlessly missed you.

It was around year five of being gone, and probably two years since I'd seen anyone, when I decided to give up traveling and go home for good. I was sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower, one of the perks of being a ghost, and I realized you were it for me. I'd been gone for long enough, met enough people, and yet at the end of the day, I wanted to share these experiences with you. You'd seen me poltergeist the house to shambles, and I'd seen you slip off the bandwagon more than once. But in both of us seeing the worst of the other, we'd always been there for each other and helped the other through it. And then, with my feet dangling over the edge while I enjoyed the sight of the lights of Paris, an odd light came over me, and suddenly, I wasn't alone.

"Sally Malik," a voice suddenly said from next to me. I gasped, but recognized the face.

"Reaper?" I asked, afraid of what this meant. I hadn't seen the face of my dark alter ego in years. I didn't know what it meant. "What do you want?"

He looked at me for a minute before responding. "I apologize, young one, I didn't know what else to come to you as. But you don't need to worry, I am not the one you fear. I come to you with a proposal."

"A proposal?" I asked, not sure of who the stranger was anymore, or what he could even offer me.

"A proposal," he said again. "You have grown over the last years as a force of good. You have helped lead others to their peace and guided them to their doors. You look past the darkness of people and see the good inside of them, no matter how deep it is. And you have caught the attention of the Guardians. Your love has earned you a reward. We want to offer you your form again."

I couldn't believe what she was hearing. It sounded too good to be true, and all I could think of was when people win the Clearing House Sweepstakes, only to be overly taxed and not win much of anything. There had to be a catch with this. There always was. "Why?" I finally asked.

"I told you why," the Guardian sitting next to her explained. "You are a powerful force of good. You have fought through the inner darkness, and you have come out stronger for it. And you have helped more people than you know. You have made amends for the darkness you brought into the world, and we know you will continue to do your good works."

"But, who are you?" I asked, cutting him off. "How do you have the ability to offer this to me?"

The Guardian sighed, clearly getting irritated at her questions. "The Guardians are like the protectors of the balance. Almost like the opposite of the Reaper that you fear. Our desire is not to see ghosts shredded, but to see them find their peace. Every so often, a ghost goes off the deep end and we need to come in and clean up the mess, but we prefer to stay uninvolved, or help them find their peace when possible. We notice the works people do, and when it tips the balance in one direction or another. And we've watched you help people like Zoe and Nora deal with their reality and find their place dealing with the supernatural world. We've seen you befriend Josh and remind him over and over that he is a good person and his wolf is not a true curse. And we've seen you with Aiden, one of the darkest vampires at times, and how you've guided him back to the right side of things. Do you know he hasn't drunk live in years?"

 _Aiden_.

If I was corporeal, I could go to you. I could be with you. I knew it was not the point of the proposal I was being offered, but it was what filled my mind. I had to know. "Are there any catches with this? Anything I should do to keep this? I'm assuming, since you carefully selected the word corporeal form and not life, that I won't be human again. But will I still be a ghost? Or will I become something else? Will humans be able to see me, or will I still be invisible to them, and just able to haunt people by making things move?"

The Guardian sighed again. "Listen, Sally, I'm on a bit of a timeline here. You will still be a ghost, but you will be able to touch things. You will be able to feel and smell again. Others will be able to touch you, and you will be visible to humans. You can enjoy this reward in any way you like, but you must continue to help souls move on. You must continue to help the supernatural people, and you must look through their darkness as much as you can. Now, do you accept this or not?" He rose at the last part and extended his hand for me to take.

I ghosted into the living room of the house I'd come to call home. Things looked different since the last time I was here, but it still also felt familiar. There were pictures on the mantle from times when I was gone. Josh and Nora's cake cutting from their wedding. Aiden with a small blond boy on his lap, presumably Josh's son. There was a nice couch in the living room, and the walls had been painted a dark blue instead of the blood red from before. It was good to be home. She sat on the couch and waited.

It wasn't long before the front door opened, and you walked in, looking exhausted, just like I remembered from the end of your long hospital shifts. What I wasn't used to was the breeze that came in through the front door when someone came through it. I wasn't used to the smell of the cologne you wore. Warm, like the smell of leather and pine.

"Sally?" you asked, a look of surprise on your face.

I didn't wait for you to process that it was me. I leaped off the couch and threw myself into your arms, eager for the hug I'd imagined so much over the years. "Aiden," I breathed out, wrapping my arms around your neck and burying my face into your chest. The hug was better than I could have imagined. You slid your arms around my waist like it was the most natural thing in the world for you to do. I could tell you weren't sure what was happening, but you embraced me anyways.

"Sally?" you asked again, still confused. "How are you here? How am I holding you? God, I've missed you so much!" You said it all in a rush, like you were afraid I'd leave again. You pulled back, just enough to see my face. "I can't believe this."

"It's a long story," I said, "and I will fill you in on all of it, but first, there is something I need to do, before I lose my nerve." As soon as I got the words out of my mouth, I kissed you. Right there, in the middle of the entryway to the house where I'd been murdered in years before, I kissed you like I'd wanted to do for the longest time. You'd been so much in my life, my annoying roommate, then my friend and protector, and then the man I'd loved. I kissed you with all the energy I had, and I smiled when I felt you kiss me back. Any fear of rejection I'd had was gone in that instant. Any thoughts that you'd forgotten me left when I felt you lean into the kiss, pushing my back into the wall.

"I've waited so long for that," you finally said when we broke the kiss.

I had to laugh at you. "You've waited for that? I've loved you for years! You can't even begin to understand the waiting I've done."

"Sally," you said, cupping my face in your hands, "I've loved you for years. But I didn't see the point in telling you that when I could cause you so much pain. Ghost or not, I always felt the need to protect you, even from myself. Everything I've done, all the pain and trouble I've caused, all the people's lives I've ruined, I can't be good enough for you. I can't be the man you deserve, because I'm not a man. I'm a monster."

You looked so sad telling me that. It broke my heart. I wish you could have seen us how I saw us. "Aiden," I whispered, wanting to convey my emotions to you in a way you would accept. "I'm not a human, and I never will be again. You can't hurt me. You literally can't. I'm not just a ghost anymore. Well, I am, but I'm protected too. The Guardians gave me this form, and this opportunity, and I want to use it to be with you. I mean, I have to work too, but I want to be with you. I want to share this opportunity with you. Feel this?" I ran the back of my hand along your jaw. "And this?" I leaned into your chest again, closing the distance between us. "I love you, Aiden Waite, in my own young and messed up supernatural way. I want to be with you. I choose you, in all of our messed-up lives."

You looked ready to respond, but then you paused. "Ok," you finally said, and you hugged me again, resting your cheek on top of my head.

Authors Note Pt 2: It's been a long time since I posted anything on here, or wrote for that matter. So much has changed in my life, including my writing, but I wanted to try to get back into the swing of writing, so I thought I would try my hand at this. Please be kind and if you have time, feedback is always welcomed.

VAMPIRE_LUVR


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